RESEARCH REPORT: Tomato in High Tunnel: Variety Trial
Following a 2016 tomato trial on Rebelski and Mountain Fresh Plus, three farms conducted replicated variety trials in their high tunnels on Big Beef, Rebelski, and Big Dena. Key findings are in the post below, and the full report is available here: Tomato in High Tunnel, Variety Trial.
How was the trial conducted?
Each farmer planted two tomato varieties inside a high tunnel in a randomized, paired trial. Farmer-researchers for this trial were: Tim Landgraf (One Step at a Time Gardens in Kanawha), Lee Matteson and Rose Schick (Lee’s Greens in Nevada), and Mark Quee (Scattergood Farm at Scattergood Friends School in West Branch). Spacing, mulch, trellis style, and planting date were determined by farm, and described in Table 2. Plants for the trial were started indoors and transplanted to the high tunnel (in-ground). Matteson and Schick planted into a heated high tunnel.
Findings
Figure 1 shows cumulative yields through the season at each farm. Bold lines represent the varietal average and lighter lines show the individual plot yields. Using repeated measures analysis, average yields for Big Beef were statistically higher during August at Landgraf and Quee, but by the end of the summer, there were no statistical differences in overall yield. At both farms, the earlier-maturing Big Beef showed higher yields early on, with Rebelski catching up toward the end of the season. Statistical analysis was not performed at Matteson/Schick, but total yield for both varieties (Big Beef and Big Dena) at the end of harvest were within two pounds of one another. Similar to the pattern at Landgraf and Quee, Big Beef got off to a faster start, and fruit production from Big Dena eventually caught up in September.
Though total yield at each farm was not statistically different by variety, farmers responded to price, taste, size, and timing of harvest in their varietal choices moving forward.
Landgraf strongly preferred Big Beef, which was his favorite variety coming into the trial. “This trial was to test two tomato varieties in the high tunnel. We found a definite preference in the taste and texture of one variety over the other. We plan to continue using Big Beef in the high tunnel, and will discontinue planting the Rebelski variety,” said Landgraf. Landgraf targets his tomato season to begin Aug. 1 to accommodate a July vacation, so his harvest window is typically shorter, ending at the beginning of October. However, he did note that yields this year were lower than normal, perhaps due to more cool, cloudy days; generation from his solar panels was low, too.
Quee, whose tomatoes are used primarily in the Scattergood Friends’ School kitchen, did not have strong varietal preference, but plans to move forward with Big Beef based on the cost difference. “My market loves any tomatoes by mid-July and we appreciated still having tomatoes right up until frost. I found Big Beef and Rebelski indistinguishable in taste, color and for the most part, size. Anecdotally, it seemed that Rebelski had more small tomatoes which brought down the average, but it also produced ample large tomatoes. The flavor of both varieties did not compare well to some of our outdoor heirlooms.”
Quee is mindful of the disease package of Rebelski, but for now, is confident in the health of their high tunnel. “I will probably continue to plant a few Rebelski just in case our soil-borne disease load reaches a tipping point in our high tunnels. But thus far, with seemingly little disease pressure, I will plant many more of the cheaper Big Beef,” he said.
Schick and Matteson want tomatoes ready early in the season, and Big Beef is an early starter. However, the combination with Big Dena has advantages, too. “Big Beef has better name recognition at the farmers market, and its harvest started sooner. But it seems to do the traditional bell curve for harvest with tomato size declining as the season goes along which decreases the amount that can be sold to restaurant customers and more have to go to seconds,” said Schick.
“It seemed to us that Big Dena has two flushes. Its harvest starts later than Big Beef, has a flush (in July), then has another one later (in late August). It also seems to keep its size better. We are considering using Big Dena as a variety to keep later into the fall because the size holds up and it has a later flush of fruit.
For more details on this trial, read the full report: Tomato in High Tunnel, Variety Trial. This project was supported by the USDA Risk Management Agency and the Ceres Foundation.
For more information about this study and other fruit and vegetable studies as part of PFI’s Cooperators’ Program, contact Liz Kolbe at liz@practicalfarmers.org